System and method for collaborative communications and informaton sharing

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented system facilitates collaborative communications and information sharing in a network defined by a model. The model of the network is accessible by a user through at least one terminal having a processor. At least a portion of the system, and the model, are stored on a storage component coupled to the terminal. The system includes a context component for capturing context information and user-defined data, the user-defined data provided during user interaction of the user in a first domain of the network, the context component dynamically storing the context information as metadata associated with the user-defined data, the user-defined data and the metadata stored on the storage component of the system, a tracking component for tracking a change of the user from the first domain to a second domain of the network and dynamically updating the stored metadata based on the change, where the user accesses the user-defined data from the second domain; and an interface to the system accessible by the user at the terminal, the interface permitting the user to create and view the user-defined data according to the model of the network.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/313,658, entitled “System and Method for CollaborativeCommunications and Information Sharing,” filed Dec. 7, 2011, which is adivisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/312,740, entitled“Processing Management Information,” filed May 14, 1999, now U.S. Pat.No. 8,095,413, issued Jan. 10, 2012, which claims priority from U.S.Provisional Patent Application 60/133,152, now expired, having the sametitle as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/312,740, and having afiling date of May 7, 1999. This patent application contains the entiredisclosure of U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 13/313,658 and09/312,740.

BACKGROUND

The Web and Internet technology allow far-flung people to be linked andshare information as never before, fostering new alliances andrevolutionizing business. However, the tools developed so far areprimarily intended to enable people to communicate at the individual andteam level.

SUMMARY

A computer-implemented system facilitates collaborative communicationsand information sharing in a network defined by a model. The model ofthe network is accessible by a user through at least one terminal havinga processor. At least a portion of the system, and the model, are storedon a storage component coupled to the terminal. The system includes acontext component for capturing context information and user-defineddata, the user-defined data provided during user interaction of the userin a first domain of the network, the context component dynamicallystoring the context information as metadata associated with theuser-defined data, the user-defined data and the metadata stored on thestorage component of the system; a tracking component for tracking achange of the user from the first domain to a second domain of thenetwork and dynamically updating the stored metadata based on thechange, where the user accesses the user-defined data from the seconddomain; and an interface component for providing an interface to thesystem accessible by the user at the terminal, the interface permittingthe user to create and view the user-defined data according to the modelof the network.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 are block diagrams of software systems;

FIGS. 3, 6-10, and 12-40 are illustrations of computer display screensproduced by the software systems;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of principles underlying the software systems;and

FIG. 11 is a spider diagram produced by the software systems.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The Agile Management Portal program includes Intranet/Internet basedsoftware integrated in a process to help organizations such ascompanies, enterprises, and businesses, to be more agile. The programallows management teams, wherever located, to quickly plan, design, andwork on a common portfolio of strategic goals and initiatives the teamsbelieve will make the business grow and prosper, and to gain access topre-populated external sources of knowledge, expertise and tools via theInternet.

Agility management: In at least some circumstances, Agility means beingable to consistently grow and perform better than competitors in themarketplace over time, and Agility management means linking strategicplanning, project management, and high performance organizationalprinciples into an integrated set of management tools, templates andservices that enable organizations to be more agile.

Agile Manager can serve as a “management portal” through which peoplecan view both internal organizational goals and external informationavailable to help achieve these goals. The Portal's functionalarchitecture is called The Agile Manager, and has four modules that canbe used in a planning and management process: the Agile Manager, theAgile Company, the Agile Baseline, and Agile Know-how,

The Agile Manager Includes:

(1) a business domain structure to which strategic goals andcontributing initiatives can be linked. This structure creates a stem-tostern view of how the business works, including customer, value chain,organization and economic domains. This structure allows the user toenter and subsequently explore strategic goals and initiatives germaneto either the organization as a whole or to a particular domain. Oncethe user picks an area of interest, the user is effectively “one click”away from several context sensitive views about investments theorganization is making to grow and improve performance.

(2) a gap analysis facility that a management team can use to assessperformance gaps and to design how any aspect of the domain structurewould have to change to close these gaps.

(3) the ability to create a portfolio of strategic goals and theircontributing initiatives using either top down brainstorming orbottom-up association techniques. As a result, teams can effectivelystart with a clean sheet of paper and reinvent the business fromscratch. Or the teams can review an inventory of already on-goingactivities and relate these activities to each other and to overallstrategic goals. Having this portfolio available on-line—subject topermissioning controls—for all to see, keeps members of the organizationaware of where they need to go, what it will take to get there, and whatactions should be taken to stay on track.

(4) a facility to draw people's attention immediately to changes in theportfolio and its contents that are important to the people in view oftheir particular roles or interests. This facility gives various commonand individualized views of different goals and initiatives that willhelp diverse groups of people to work together effectively. A history ofthese changes and related dates is also maintained.

(5) a common attribute structure that provides information (e.g., costs,payback, priority, risks, due dates) for any goal and contributinginitiative so the goals and initiatives can be sorted against a piece ofinformation to facilitate ongoing decision making. For example, ifresources are limited, the user can sort initiatives by cost, payback,and priority, or if the user wants to see how the portfolio will affectany part of the organization, the user can sort by domain.

(6) the ability to follow a context sensitive link to any goal orinitiative and its relevant internal and external sources of knowledgedeemed helpful to successful implementation.

(7) a management action plan/agenda utility that managers can use tokeep track of pending issues and actions for each strategic goal orinitiative. As a result, users can learn about outstanding issues,upcoming agenda items, and the responsible parties. As a result, itemsare easily found and a user is allowed to see progress related issuesbefore meetings, so that less time is needed to focus managementmeetings on substantive issues.

The Agile Company:

(8) The Agile Manager also supports the Agile Company program, whichincludes content that executives can use to assess how well theirorganization matches high performance criteria and to suggest base-casetemplate programs that can be adapted to accelerate developing agility.Behind the Agile Company is content reflecting 20 traits andcharacteristics that capture fundamental principles underlying agile,high performing organizations

The Agile Baseline:

(9) The Agile Baseline includes an accessible assessment tool thatdisplays performance criteria that respondents then evaluate in terms oftheir organization's competency relative to each criterion. The resultof this input is displayed as a “spider” diagram that visually helps toconvey the extent of any gaps that should be closed to improvecompetitiveness. The spider diagram helps people focus on opportunitiesfor improvement and makes the rationale for change readily accessible tomembers of the organization.

Agile Know-How:

(10) Agile Know-how includes a subscription service that provides linksto specific knowledge sources and tools that can be helpful to peopleworking on different initiatives. This subscription service fitstogether with the Agile Manager so the knowledge is accessible in thecontext in which it is needed.

When the Agile Manager and its modules are used in conjunction with theAgility Management Process, people are better able to work together in away demonstrated to be correlated with high performance:

-   -   Fosters a more adaptive culture (e.g., to relish change and        fight inertia): linking goals, projects and their attributes and        being able to sort the portfolio to focus on a particular aspect        facilitates adapting to changes when they occur.    -   Helps align users behind strategic goals and contributing        projects: getting users to “see” in simple outline form where        the organization wants to go to grow and prosper, and what its        going to take to get there, which enables users to understand        the strategy and to keep their own projects in alignment.    -   Helps employees act and be treated like owners: when people can        see a model of the organization and understand how it works they        are better able to make decisions about what is important, much        as if they owned the organization.    -   Helps make decisions based on benefits and risks to the        business: linking proposed initiatives to the model of the        organization, and to costs, paybacks, and priorities makes it        easier to understand the benefits and risks that could result.    -   Provides well managed structure that encourages teamwork across        boundaries: the ability to understand and be informed of changes        elsewhere in the organization enhances the ability to work        across different disciplines and locations.    -   Encourages people to continuously look for ways to improve the        business: enabling management team members to review a table of        contents of their business, and to assess gaps between how good        they need to be and where they are currently, and to set goals        for closing these gaps; this ability of individuals or teams to        step back and to “see” the table of contents and to reflect on        what changes need to be made to be different in the marketplace        and to improve performance is a key ingredient in creating a        culture that continually looks for ways to improve the business.    -   Helps people understand better how the pieces of the business        work together: the model of the business gives viewers an        integrated view of how the business works and how they relate,        which provides a valuable context for understanding why        something that does not entirely make sense locally could be        proper for the business as a whole.    -   Keeps users focused on successfully implementing strategic        priorities: The ability to constantly view and be aware of what        is in the approved strategic goals and initiatives portfolio        keeps members of the organization aligned around common        strategic priorities.    -   Makes the management process more cost effective by having        information and knowledge available when it is needed: the        linking of plans, goals, resources, people and projects into a        relational database accessible via the Internet makes valuable        information available almost immediately.

The Computing Environment:

To use Agility Manager effectively, an organization may use an intranetwith widespread email and Web browser usage. Agility Manager iscompatible with modern email systems and with Microsoft and Netscape Webbrowsers. Typically, no other client-side software is required.

Agility Manager combines sophisticated application code with powerful,industry standard server components. The Agility Manager server includesa database server, a Web application server, and application codewritten in server-side Java. Agility Manager can use a Microsoft orOracle database server. For example, Agility Manager may be run on anIBM Websphere application server, or may run on other Java-basedapplication servers. The Agility Manager may run on Windows NT orSolaris or other operating environments.

Agility Manager may be installed on an internal server, or may be hostedon a server such as a Web server and connected via Internet or VirtualPrivate Net.

Example of an On-Site Installation:

Browsers: MS Internet Explorer 3+, Netscape Navigator/Communicator 3+

Mailers: Email client with click-through URL linking, such as Notes,Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, Communicator.

Server OS: Windows NT 4 Solaris 2.5+

Database Server: MS SQL 6.5 Oracle 8 Database administration capabilityis typically required.

Application Server: IBM WebSphere 1.1 or 2.0

Web Server: MS IIS, Apache, or Netscape

Mail System: SMTP compatible, such as Notes, Exchange, Sendmail, Smail,Postoffice.

Example of an Off-Site Installation:

Browsers: MS Internet Explorer 3+, Netscape Navigator/Communicator 3+

Mailers: Email client with click-through URL linking, such as Notes,Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, Communicator. Integration and SourceCode

The Agile Manager is based on a relational data model.

Screen Map for Agile Manager:

FIG. 1 is a map of the basic structure of the suite of software thatshows key functions performed by the Agile Manager and ways in whichusers can get access to other modules of the suite. The sequence of themap illustrates logical paths users take as different aspects of thegoal hierarchy are considered, from deciding what belongs and why,designing and modifying goals and contributing projects, monitoring andpursuing issues related to implementation progress, and getting tospecific knowledge found helpful to the context of any particularinitiative. A screen by screen description is provided below.

Overview of Corporate Processes Affected by the Agility ManagementProgram

The Agility Management Program helps leaders, managers, and staffconduct normal management practices in everyday corporate life whilequickly and effectively using the power of the Internet to gain accessto knowledge needed to make decisions. Thus, the program helps leadersand managers to execute daily operations successfully, to continuallyimprove the way they do business to keep abreast of changing competitiveconditions and to deliver increasing value to their customers andowners.

The Planning/Execution Cycle (Process)

Technology is transforming virtually every aspect of commerce, andglobalization and deregulation are making competition more complex.These forces are causing organizations to go through planning andexecution cycles to launch multiple new initiatives to cope. To do this,organizations routinely make assessments of their performance—theyconsider best practices, they survey customer opinions, they examinemarket and competitive trends and practices; they create task forces andhire consultants who generate findings and conclusions. To handle theseconclusions, organizations conduct planning to establish goals anddesign initiatives to improve their performance—they hold retreats todevelop these visions and they decide on priorities and allocateresources to fund initiatives to bring these visions to fruition. Toexecute these initiatives, organizations assign staff and hire outsideexpertise and know-how to get the results they want. To get the resultsto stick, organizations undertake change management programs to bringpeople and organizational behaviors into line with what the newinitiatives require.

The Agility Management Program software enables people to get organizedand communicate much easier and faster as they go through these planningand execution cycles, and to gain access to knowledge and tools thatwill help them understand how to implement their initiatives moresuccessfully. FIG. 2 illustrates the relationship between the AgileManager and common planning practices.

Managing a Portfolio of Initiatives

The planning/execution process is repeated again and again acrossorganizations in different departments, functional areas, and lines ofbusiness. It is not uncommon for literally hundreds of initiatives to beunderway in units across an organization. Some of the initiatives arelocal initiatives to improve a specific operation and typically do notneed to be coordinated with other initiatives. Many initiatives,however, have multiple components that should be coordinated so thatthey contribute to the accomplishment of a single overarching goal. Forinstance, a new product requires that processes across the organizationfrom sales and marketing, through operations and manufacturing, andtechnology to human resources be integrated and aligned so that theproduct will be introduced in time to exploit an opportunity in themarketplace. Similarly, introduction of new technology, such as a newworkstation, often requires coordination of units from informationtechnology, sales and marketing, human resource training, andadministration before the new technology can be put into beneficial use.

The Agile Manager not only facilitates the planning/execution cycle forany particular goal or initiative, but also allows the user to put allthe priority goals and each priority goal's contributing initiativesinto a strategic implementation portfolio or hierarchy (FIG. 3.).

The portfolio view relates contributing initiatives or projects to theiroverarching goals and to each other, and allows the user to sort theseinitiatives, projects, or goals in a variety of ways. For example, theuser can sort the initiatives in terms of their impact on the domainstructure of the organization, by strategic factors such as cost,payback, and priority, or according to the status and stage the goalsand initiatives are in to allow better management.

Helping Leaders, Managers and Staff Play Their Different Roles

People throughout an organization have distinct roles to play in theformulation and implementation of plans. Traditionally, these roles havebeen substantially formalized, with senior levels likely to do theplanning and lower levels likely to do the implementation. Modern emailand voice communication have flattened organizational structures byallowing ordinary employees to get access to information on their ownwithout depending on senior levels as the source of knowledge.

The Agile Manager allows effectively everyone to see the goals andprojects important to the company and, as shown on FIG. 4, helps peopleto play specific roles with a clear picture of the initiatives involvedand allows people to contribute ideas.

Overview of How the Software Integrates with a Process in the AgilityManagement Program

As shown in FIG. 5, the Agility Management Program reflects principlesof effective management of high performing organizations.

The following describes a typical sequence of how a management user/teammight use the Agile Manager. The particular example is drawn from anactual implementation of the Agile Manager linking strategic corporategoals and Information Technology initiatives. The Agile Managerstructure allows many different business applications, and a key problemit helps solve is bridging a communication gap between business usersand their technical counterparts so both sides work off the same page.

Planning:

The first sequence, for planning, starts with users viewing their domainstructure (FIG. 6) and deciding where they want to set a new goal (seeFIG. 7). Users can view the domain structure at different levels ofdepth from the highest level (shown in FIG. 6) to lower levels showingsub-components within each domain (see FIG. 8). If they wish, users candisplay already existing goals (see FIG. 9), which helps them tounderstand what's in the current hierarchy, which can help addressissues such as whether particular domains are sufficiently active andwhether some existing goals may no longer be appropriate.

Once users have reviewed current activity and debated where the companyneeds to devote attention to improve future performance, they can selectany domain and select an Agile Baseline Mode (“Baseline”). Baselineallows users to critique the selected domain in terms of criteria thatThe Agile Manager suggests (see FIG. 10), or that they provide or modifythemselves. Once the users have agreed on the criteria and reachedconsensus about both how good the criteria need to be and how good thecriteria currently are, the results are displayed in a spider diagram(see FIG. 11). The spider diagram helps to capture the users assessmentof the current situation and to explain why the domain has been selectedfor developing new goals to be included in the hierarchy. Subsequently,users can return to Baseline to reassess whether improvement goals andprojects that have been undertaken have in fact been successful. Thisreassessment can suggest new gap areas where new initiatives may beappropriate, or indicate that not enough has been accomplished tosufficiently improve the situation.

After exercising Baseline, users may establish a new goal (by a “newgoal” button on the domain screens) (see FIG. 7 for the screen thatappears when the button is pushed) to improve performance. Onceestablished, the new goal takes its place in the goal hierarchy andmanagement can decide what should happen next.

For example, even if a goal “expand business with the most profitablecustomers” has been entered, ideas related to the goal have not beenentirely fleshed out, resources have not been allocated, plans have notbeen formulated, and accountability has not been assigned. The goal iswithout projects necessary to bring about the desired results. To beginto put these projects together, users can use the gap analysis featureto view each domain and sub-domain in terms of how each domain orsub-domain would have to change if the goal is to be achieved. As usersidentify these changes, they create in effect a vision of a differentcompany that would achieve the goal (see FIG. 12). In this example, twoprojects or goals to expand business with profitable customers are: todeepen relationships with high net worth clients, and to have profitableproducts for every segment. Each of these two projects or goals may alsoin turn be analyzed in the gap analysis process to create other projectsor goals that will make them a reality.

As these projects or goals are defined, they are added to the GoalsHierarchy (see FIG. 3) that provides access to the strategic hierarchyof goals and contributing projects or goals that the company is workingon to improve performance. If the user wants to get more informationabout the new goal or any goal listed in the hierarchy, the user clickson the goal of interest to get to summary information as shown in FIG.13 for the goal “expand business with most profitable customers.”

In summary, the planning sequence allows the user to update companyplans either by starting with a clean sheet of paper and brainstorming anew goal and the projects that would bring it about, or by reviewing theexisting hierarchy of goals and projects and deciding whether somethingis missing; Thus, the hierarchy typically includes a combination of newideas being considered and maturing goals and projects that are in theprocess of implementation.

Managing the Hierarchy:

The Agile Manager allows managers to keep the hierarchy of goals andcontributing goals in constant view and up-to-date with changingcircumstances. The hierarchy can be viewed as a totality of goals andcontributing goals affecting the enterprise (see FIG. 3), or can beviewed by top goals (see FIG. 14), depending on the user's interest, orby specific top goal (see FIG. 15).

In addition, the user can view the hierarchy against certain types ofinformation that help inform the user about the impact of goals on thebusiness domains (see FIG. 16) or the priority (see FIG. 17) or impactof each of the goals, or about its status, stage of development, orownership accountability (see FIG. 18). Because these different viewsare a click away, the Agile Manager supports a dynamic decision makingprocess where discussion can move quickly from strategic to tacticalconsiderations. For example, if the topic is budgets, the user can sortby goal or project cost (see FIG. 17), or by priority or return oninvestment (“payback”) (see FIG. 19) and can be provided withinformation that can help the user decide where to commit resourcesbased on factors such as benefit and risk. In another example, whenmanagers meet and want to focus on key implementation issues, they canopt to switch to viewing “status” factors and can view goals or projectsby status (e.g., on track or in need of attention) (see FIG. 18), whichstage each is in (see FIG. 20), risks, or who is responsible. Withoutthe Agile Manager, each view would likely require a special study orreport; the Agile Manager makes these different views available at amoment's notice. In addition, managers who want to explore any goal orproject in more detail can click on the goal or project of interest andget more information. Similarly, managers who see something missingwhile reviewing the overall hierarchy can select “new goal” from themenu and enter a new goal or project (see FIG. 21).

In at least some embodiments, an especially important view managers canuse to manage the hierarchy is a view in which the goals and projectsare sorted by domain. This view can be produced for any of a number oflevels, e.g., for the entire hierarchy (see FIG. 16) or for a selectedgoal in isolation (see FIG. 24). A purpose of this view is to allowmanagers to understand quickly what initiatives are underway or willaffect an aspect of the business. For instance, if a question arisesregarding what is being done about market trends, managers can click onany topic on the domain structure (e.g. customer relationships) (seeFIG. 23) and see immediately what initiatives are underway related tothis topic (see FIG. 24). Users can also execute searches by name orword in the title of a goal or project (see FIG. 25), and can put Alertsin place (see FIG. 26) that will flag changes that occur in goals orprojects previously indicated as being of particular interest (see FIG.26).

Executing Goals and Projects:

A major purpose of the Agile Manager, in addition to planning andmanaging the overall portfolio of goals and projects (i.e. thehierarchy), is to help managers accelerate implementation progressrelated to a goal and its contributing projects. A user has an array ofchoices to view when reviewing the progress of a selected goal. (Thechoices available depend on the permission that is granted by the Ownerof a Goal to different types of users (see FIG. 27)).

A “summary” page (see FIG. 13) contains information about the goalitself that can be edited (see FIG. 28). Other main views for helping tomanage include “progress” (see FIG. 29) that displays the contributingprojects or goals that must be finished or achieved before the parentgoal can be fully accomplished. The “progress” view allows managers toview progress for the contributing projects side-by-side to determinewhether the projects are properly synchronized or are out of phase witheach other.

Other features are useful for managers and teams executing goals andcontributing projects. A “discussion” feature (see FIG. 30) allows auser on the system to communicate directly about, and in the context of,the goal or project of interest. The owner of a goal can also select aparticularly important part of the discussion and put it on an agenda(see FIG. 31). Another useful feature includes an ability to link tointernal and external sources of information that goal or project teamsbelieve are important to make accessible to users involved (see FIGS. 32and 33). The links provide a practical application of knowledgemanagement because the links allow teams to place informationeffectively or actually one click away so users can get at theinformation without excessively disturbing the state of the software.For example, users can hot-link to and open a detailed Microsoft Projectplan if the plan is useful to the discussions. Users can place Worddocuments related to the goal where the documents can be found, and openthe documents when needed. Similarly, users can link to Web sites ofoutside consultants or suppliers that may be related to the goal athand. In this way, users can start using the software through the domainstructure, find out the relevant issues, and access relevant knowledgecontext sensitively along the way.

The above sections have laid out a description of Agile Manager and theAgile Baseline module. In addition, the Agile Manager includes the AgileCompany and Agile Know-How modules.

The Agile Company can be added to or made accessible from the AgileManager and provides a survey that employees can take to assess how wellthe company or organization is managed in view of high performancecriteria. The Agile Company software can be downloaded onto the client'sserver and a user on the network can complete a questionnaire ofmultiple pages, such as 20 pages, (exemplified in FIG. 34) and then thesoftware can tabulate results to show strengths and weaknesses forsample analysis. The Agile Company also has templates that can be madeavailable to help clients get started with a change program designed toimprove specific high performance traits. The goal “expand business withmost profitable customers' shown in FIG. 36 is set up with such atemplate.

Agile Know-How links users to excerpts of publications about topicsrelevant to the goals and projects in which they're involved. Forinstance, the user can stipulate concepts, such as leadership, andspecific aspects of the concept, such as senior leadership, and the kindof information needed, such as understanding the concepts, or how to bea good leader, and then get excerpts that match the needed information.In this regard, the Agile Manager enables an organization to use theAgile Manager as a single source for not only information aboutstrategic initiatives but also knowledge available inside and outsidethe organization that can help make the organization more agile.

The Input Screen and Process Flows Include:

The Goal Hierarchy Screen is the default screen (see FIG. 3) and animportant navigational screen for accessing details about any singlegoal or initiative, or accessing various views. Once the goals andcontributing projects have been loaded, the default screen presents agoal hierarchy and can be used as follows:

-   -   Hierarchy: the left side of the screen presents an outline the        top section of which represents the organization's strategic        implementation plan, i.e., in which the top level statements        represent strategic goals that are the highest level        organization goals, and the next indented level statements        represent contributing initiatives that are indicated as having        to be completed for the strategic goals to be achieved. A user        authorized to see the portfolio view can see where the        organization wants to go and what it will take to get there,        with the goals and projects associated together in one spot.    -   Unassociated Goals: the goals and initiatives under this heading        are indicated as being either no longer relevant strategically        or not yet placed in the hierarchy.    -   Functions from this screen: If a user is unhappy with the        placement of a goal or initiative or wants to adjust attributes        of the goal or initiative, the user has only to click on a goal        or initiative listed to retrieve its related information. For        example, a click on the initiative takes the user to a summary        screen (see FIG. 13 for example) for this initiative. The        following information fields are available for any goal or        initiative:    -   Heading: the entry shows the name of the goal or initiative for        which basic information is displayed on this screen.    -   Owner: this entry lists the name of the person responsible for        implementation of the goal or initiative and authorized to edit        its related information.    -   Parent Goal: this entry lists the name of the goal or initiative        immediately above or superior to the initiative that is active.        An advantage of showing the parent goal is that a user working        on the initiative is instructed that the initiative is        contributing to the parent goal.    -   Objective: this entry shows the objective of the initiative so a        user is instructed as to what the initiative is specifically to        accomplish.    -   History: the entry maintains a running log of changes made tie        the initiative, and indicated by whom and when. Here is recorded        when the project was created and when delegated to the current        owner. The changes are monitored by the computer so that the        user can identify which changes the user wants to have flagged        automatically when they are made (see View Alerts below).    -   Status: this entry identifies the category such as “on-time,”        chosen to summarize the status of the goal or initiatives        progress, so that the user can determine at a glance whether the        goal or initiative is in need of attention. The categories        listed here can be modified to fit each client situation when an        edit mode is selected. Due Date: this entry indicates the date        by which the initiative is to be achieved.    -   Priority: the benefit presents a numerical score from 1 (lowest)        to 5 (highest) based on user judgment about the relative value        of the initiative or goal in terms of improving the business        results. For example, the goal may be rated 3 of 5, i.e.,        average. An advantage of a simple rating is that users can        quickly understand the rating scale and then discuss        specifically the reasons behind the rating.    -   Risk: this field presents a 1 to 5 numerical score that        indicates a risk level for the goal or initiative, such as that        the team is new, that the technology is untested, or that the        market is new. By keeping track of risk, managers can work        proactively to reduce risk and thus increase the probability of        a successful implementation. In addition, when there are        resource constraints, decisions about which initiatives to        continue to pursue may depend on a combination of benefit scores        and risk scores to indicate how much managers can count on        achieving the initiative and having a positive impact on the        business. For example, with a priority score of 3 that is lower        than a risk score of 4, a question might be raised about whether        to continue to fund the initiative if there are other        initiatives that have better benefit/risk characteristics.    -   Project Code: (not shown) this field allows an alphanumeric        identifier to be assigned for administrative purposes.    -   Stage: the stage field shows where in the project life cycle the        goal or initiative is so that a user can keep track of how the        goal or initiative is progressing and what remains to be done.        For example, the initiative shown is in the “start up” stage. In        the edit mode, several stages are displayed from which the owner        can pick one that is descriptive of the status of the        initiative.    -   Investment: this field captures the cost of or investment in        each particular goal or initiative so the user can readily        access financial information related to decision making and        priorities.    -   Payback: the payback field refers to the economic return        anticipated for achievement of the particular goal or        initiative. In conjunction with the investment field, the        payback field can allow a ratio of return on investment to be        produced, which ratio may play a key decision making role in an        assessment of the relative value of one initiative versus        another.    -   Rank: (not shown) this field is available for formulas developed        for each client for calculating the ranking of each goal and        initiative, including the combined values of initiatives        contributing to a particular strategic goal.    -   Score: (not shown) the score field relates to a unique        calculation of the cumulative value of each goal and initiative        based on weighting techniques appropriate to the user (e.g.,        alignment with corporate values, brand, payback, competitive        position, management attitudes). Both the rank and score fields        are provided to help users prioritize goals and initiatives in        the portfolio.    -   Edit button: when a user clicks on the edit button, the user is        taken immediately to the Basic Goal Edit screen (see FIG. 28)        which allows the authorized owner to modify the basic        information about the particular goal or initiative that has        been selected. The Project Name and Description fields are for        text, the Due Date is for calendar completion date information,        and the other fields such as domain, status, benefit and risk        priority, and stage present pop-up menus. When changes are        submitted, the changes are automatically accessible to whoever        uses the system and are captured in the history log,    -   Delegate button: this button allows the user to designate or        redesignate the individual who is the owner of the goal or        initiative by going to the Delegate Screen (see FIG. 35) and        searching through names of candidates to whom responsibility can        be delegated.    -   Delete button: when this button is selected, the user is        automatically asked whether the goal or initiative is to be        deleted and, if so, the goal or initiative is deleted and        archived in case subsequent retrieval becomes necessary.    -   Project Menu: this pop-up menu lists the choices of views the        user can access from the Basic Goal Info Screen as regards the        active goal or initiative that has been selected. The view        choices include the following:    -   Control Panel: when this choice is made the user is presented        with the Control Panel view (see FIG. 27) and can review the        permissioning rules. If the rules are satisfactory, the user can        retreat and proceed along another path. If the rules need to be        changed, the user clicks the edit button and is presented with        another version of the Control Panel that can be edited and        submitted. Only the authorized owner is able to make changes.    -   Project Briefing: if the user wants to understand better how the        active goal or initiative relates to the parent goal, the user        can click on this choice and will be presented with the Project        Briefing screen (see FIG. 36). Here salient information is        displayed from the Objective field in the basic information        related to the selected goal (see FIG. 37). In addition, sources        of knowledge that may be helpful to access are listed so that        the user can hot-link to them if need be. In a typical        embodiment, this screen cannot be edited and is just a view.    -   Goal Components: when the user makes this choice, the user is        presented with a Goal Components screen (see FIG. 38) and, in a        typical embodiment, views only the contributing goals that are        related to the parent goal. From this screen the user can access        different functions including:    -   Select Parent: when the user wants to change the position of an        initiative in the hierarchy, the user clicks on this button and        is taken to the Select New Parent screen (see FIG. 39). On this        screen the user can either search for the new parent goal or        initiative if the user knows its name, or click on “Select from        Project Hierarchy” and be presented with another screen that        lists the hierarchy. The user then selects a goal or initiative        as the new parent, and when the user clicks on this selection,        the original initiative is associated with the new parent and        shows up so associated in the hierarchy.    -   Add SubProject: when the user, wants to add a new subordinate        initiative with which the user is working, the user can use the        “add” button to view New Goal screen (see FIG. 7) and enter        information about the new initiative using the standard        template. When the information is entered, the new initiative is        placed appropriately in the hierarchy.    -   Add Milestone: this button allows the user to flag and define        major milestones in the initiative, which can be useful for        adding more detail if appropriate for monitoring significant        targets. The Create Milestone screen allows the user to name and        define the milestone and to set a finish date and status.    -   Project History: this button takes the user to a display of        project history (see FIG. 40) that shows when changes were made,        from creation of the initiative to modifications to any of its        attributes. This history can be very valuable for tracking key        events in the life of a goal or initiative for analytic or other        reasons. From this screen the user can also add comments to        explain particular events, or add new events.    -   Links: this button takes the user to a view (see FIG. 33) of the        links to any knowledge sources that the initiative team has        chosen to put here so that the knowledge sources will be        accessible to any members when necessary. An advantage of this        facility is that with the domain structure linked to goals and        initiatives and with knowledge linked to the goals and        initiatives, the organization is provided with a clear and        natural organization for placing and locating critical        information when needed. From this screen the user can add links        (see FIG. 32).    -   Gaps Analysis: this button takes the user to the list of        contributing goals/projects (with actual and desired weightings)        by domain-screen (see FIG. 12). From this list the user can        determine whether the changes for each key domain have been        identified. If the user is dissatisfied, the user can either        select the edit button and change specific information about one        or more of the existing contributing goals/projects or click on        “Add” to get to the Edit Contributing Goal screen (see FIG. 7).        In the latter case, the user can select a domain and enter the        name of a new initiative, its actual achievement weighting        (based on current status) and desired achievement weighting        (based on the importance of this initiative to achieving the        parent goal). When the new initiative idea is submitted, the        software displays the Gap Analysis view with the new initiative        added. The user can continue to add new contributing        goals/projects by domain. When the user is comfortable that the        domains have been covered, the user can click on a listed goal        name and proceed directly to its summary screen to begin to        flesh out more information about its characteristics such as its        owner and objective. In at least some cases, the value of the        Gap Analysis is substantial, because it allows users to        brainstorm what changes in the domain structure need to be made        a particular goal or initiative is to be implemented        successfully. In this regard, the combination of domain        structure and gap analysis keeps members of the organization        focused on how the organization works and where improvements        need to be made for strategic or tactical reasons.    -   View Menu: the menu at the top of the Goal Hierarchy screen        (see. FIG. 22) give the user access to hierarchical views that        facilitate decision making related to creating the hierarchy        itself, reviewing status, or flagging changes particularly        interesting to the user. A description of each of the buttons is        set forth in the following sections:    -   Select Domain: When this is selected the domain structure screen        is presented (see FIG. 23).    -   All Goals View: when this button is clicked, the user is        presented with screen (see FIG. 16) which repeats the hierarchy        on the left and adds relevant information on the right in five        categories useful to users when the users want to assess the        validity of the current goal hierarchy, including cost, payback        priority, domain, and due date (expressed as time remaining        before expected completion). From this screen, the user can        select other views where the hierarchy is sorted by category        represented by the column heading, e.g., is sorted in descending        order of costs, screen (see FIG. 17), thereby helping people        decide whether the level of investment required can be afforded.        Likewise, using column headings as buttons, the user can sort        the hierarchy into various views according to payback (see FIG.        19), priority (see FIG. 19) domain (see FIG. 16), or due date.        These views facilitate meetings and deliberations where users        need to quickly produce a variety of sorted views to achieve the        variety of perspectives needed to reach informed decisions. For        example, a view sorted by payback, with cost information also        visible, helps users decide whether the return on investment        will be sufficient to justify financially. Sorting by priority        allows users to view the relative weightings that have been        given to the goals and initiatives based on factors deemed        important from a prioritization perspective. In a typical case,        from a strategic perspective, the view sort by domain is highly        desirable because this view shows how the goals and initiatives        affect different aspects of the organization, e.g., from dealing        with customers, to processes, organization, and economics. As a        result, users can make common sense decisions about, for        example, whether all the needed changes in all the domains have        been accounted for.    -   Status View: this button takes the user to various views of the        portfolio sorted by information fields that indicate how well        the goal or initiative is progressing. When the button is        clicked, the Projects by Status screen (see FIG. 18) is        presented, sorted by status categories and showing other column        headings that can be clicked on to get Projects by Stage (see        FIG. 20) or by Owner, Projects by Risk, and Projects by Due        Date. Armed with these views, users can decide where to focus        their attention to keep projects on track.    -   Alerts View: this button takes the user to the Project Alerts        View (see FIG. 26) which shows changes a particular user has        identified as being of particular interest. From this view, the        user can access the Set Alerts and Set AlertsEdit screens and        modify the goals and types of changes the computer is to monitor        and flag on the user's behalf.

In a typical embodiment, the Agile Manager is accessible from everydesktop, with appropriate security clearances, for individual or teamuse on-line, with print out ability for manual use, and for electronicprojection to facilitate team meetings. The software is flexible and isarranged to allow the user to make non-structural changes in, forexample, the specifics contained. The user changes the “base case” toreflect the desired language and sub-domain elements. As a result, themore the tool is used, the more the tool comes to reflect the user andthe user tends to become proficient with the tool.

The technique (i.e., at least a portion of one or more of the proceduresdescribed above) may be implemented in hardware or software, or acombination of both. In some cases, it is advantageous if the method isimplemented in computer programs executing on programmable computersthat each include a processor, a storage medium readable by theprocessor (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storageelements), at least one input device such as a keyboard, and at leastone output device. Program code is applied to data entered using theinput device to perform the procedure described above and to generateoutput information. The output information is applied to one or moreoutput devices.

In some cases, it is advantageous if each program is implemented in ahigh level procedural or object-oriented programming language such asMicrosoft C or C++ to communicate with a computer system. The programscan be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In anycase, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language. In somecases, it is advantageous if each such computer program is stored on astorage medium or device (e.g., ROM or magnetic diskette) that isreadable by a general or special purpose programmable computer forconfiguring and operating the computer when the storage medium or deviceis read by the computer to perform the procedures described in thisdocument. The system may also be considered to be implemented as acomputer-readable storage medium that has been configured with acomputer program, where the storage medium as configured with theprogram causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefinedmanner.

We claim:
 1. A collaborator network system accessed by client devicesthrough a plurality of workspace portals, the collaborator networksystem comprising: a plurality of workspace objects, each workspaceobject accessed through a workspace portal; a tool set that provides aplurality of tool objects for system functionality within thecollaborator network system; a role set defining a plurality of roleobjects, each role object being defined by a permission set, eachpermission set specifying a level of access to the tool set and theworkspace portals within the collaborator network system, the permissionset, comprising: a first permission list selectively designating firsttool objects and first role objects for a first workspace objectaccessible through a first workspace portal, and a second permissionlist selectively designating second tool objects and second role objectsfor a second workspace object accessible through a second workspaceportal; and a system server that serves the tool objects and the roleobjects accessible through the first workspace portal and the secondworkspace portal according to the first and the second permission lists.2. The collaborator network system of claim 1, wherein the first toolobjects include at least one application providing functionalityspecified for the first workspace portal.
 3. The collaborator networksystem of claim 2, wherein the first tool objects include at least oneapplication providing functionality specified for the first workspaceportal, the first permission list designating the at least oneapplication as being accessible through the first workspace portal, andthe second permission list designating the at least one application asbeing inaccessible through the second workspace portal.
 4. Thecollaborator network system of claim 1, wherein the role set includes atleast one role object having a level of access to the tool set.
 5. Thecollaborator network system of claim 4, wherein the role set includes atleast one role object having a level of access to the tool set, thefirst permission list designating the at least one role object as beingavailable through the first workspace portal, and the second permissionlist designating the at least one role object as being unavailablethrough the second workspace portal.
 6. The collaborator network systemof claim 1, wherein: the role set includes a system administrator objectwith system administration access to the tool set and to the role setwithin the collaborator network system; and the workspaces are definedby use of the system administrator object.
 7. The collaborator networksystem of claim 6, wherein: the role set includes a workspaceadministrator object; the tool set includes a workspace tool set; andthe workspace administrator object provides a workspace administratorwith complete access to the workspace tool set and the role objectsdefined by the permission set.
 8. The collaborator network system ofclaim 7, wherein: the role set includes role objects with limited accessto applications of the first workspace object and role objects definedby the first permission list; and the role objects comprise one or moreof manager, user, and viewer role objects, wherein: the manager roleobject comprises manager access objects providing full access to objectsin the workspace, the user role object comprises: a user profile foreach of a plurality of individuals assigned to a workspace object; auser identification (ID) for each of the plurality of individuals; aworkspace object ID; roles and permissions assigned to each of theplurality of individuals in the workspace object; and a workspace groupprofile for two or more of the plurality of individuals; and the viewerrole object comprises read access objects limiting object access toviewing only.
 9. The collaborator network system of claim 8, wherein:the first permission list comprises individual permissions and grouppermissions, the individual and group permissions comprising: nopermission, read, read-create, read-create-update, andread-create-update-delete; and access by the individual to an object ina workspace is limited by an individual or group permission designatedfor the individual in the workspace.
 10. The collaborator network systemof claim 9, wherein a group permission assigned to the individual as amember of a group overrides an individual permission assigned to theindividual.
 11. The collaborator network system of claim 8, comprising:a user side comprising the plurality of workspaces and workspaceportals; and a system administration side, comprising systemadministration tool objects of the tool set to: create workspaces for anindividual user role object or a group role object, assign workspaceadministration responsibility to a workspace individual, and assignresource objects to the workspace object.
 12. The collaborator networksystem of claim 11, wherein individuals may belong to one or moreworkspaces simultaneously and may have different permissions in the oneor more workspaces.
 13. The collaborator network system of claim 12,wherein the tool objects include workspace objects and global objects,the global objects applicable to all workspaces and the workspaceobjects applicable to specific workspaces, the global objectscomprising: global navigation objects; resource creation objects; andthe role objects.
 14. The collaborator network system of claim 13,wherein the resource creation objects comprise: resource templatesdefined through the system administrator object, the resource templatesdefining classes of resources, the classes of resources specifyinginformation types associated with the resources belonging to the classesof resources defined by the resource templates, and wherein theresources are created by starting with the resource template; andresource objects providing the information sources; wherein a resourceobject is accessible simultaneously, without duplicating the resourceobject, from a first hierarchy and a second hierarchy, the firsthierarchy neither containing nor contained in the second hierarchy. 15.The collaborator network system of claim 14, wherein the tool setcomprises workspace tool objects comprising a text editor object tocreate text objects, chat board objects to relate discussions to theresource objects, link RSS feed objects to provide quick access to theresource objects, an archive/lock object to prevent deletion of theresource objects.
 16. The collaborator network system of claim 15,wherein the workspace tool objects further comprise: an alerts objectthat signals individuals when contents of knowledge boards change; andan immediate update share object that makes changed contents ofknowledge boards available to the individuals.
 17. The collaboratornetwork system of claim 16, further comprising a report generatorobject, comprising: a search engine object that receives query termsfrom user role objects and generates search results including one ormore resource object links; a knowledge board report object thatincludes resource object links from the search report; and a knowledgeboard update object that retrieves updated resource objects based on theresource object links and populates the knowledge board object togenerate an updated knowledge board report object.
 18. The collaboratornetwork system of claim 1, further comprising: a first workspace storagepartition storing individual and group data associated with individualsaccessing the collaborator network system through the first workspaceportal.
 19. A processor-implemented method for providing access fromclient devices to a tool set of tool objects and a role set of roleobjects through a first workspace portal and a second workspace portalin a collaborator network system, the method comprising: a processordesignating tool objects of the tool set and role objects of the roleset based on a first permission list; the processor designating toolobjects of the tool set and role objects of the role set based on asecond permission list; the processor serving through the firstworkspace portal the tool objects and role objects designated by thefirst permission list; the processor serving through the secondworkspace portal the tool objects and role objects designated by thesecond permission list, wherein the tool objects and role objects servedthrough the second workspace portal differ from the tool objects androle objects served through the first workspace portal.
 20. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructionsfor implementing a collaboration network system, wherein a processorexecutes the instructions to: designate tool objects of the tool set androle objects of the role set based on a first permission list; designatetool objects of the tool set and role objects of the role set based on asecond permission list; serve through the first workspace portal thetool objects and role objects designated by the first permission list;serve through the second workspace portal the tool objects and roleobjects designated by the second permission list, wherein the toolobjects and role objects served through the second workspace portaldiffer from the tool objects and role objects served through the firstworkspace portal, and wherein the processor reads the permission liststo determine an access type for an individual to access workspacesthrough one of the first and second workspace portals.